In No. 20 Indiana football’s first two offensive possessions, it turned the ball over on downs just one yard away from the end zone and it fumbled while entering the red zone.
With 30 seconds left in the first quarter of Saturday’s season opener, Indiana trailed Old Dominion University 7-0 inside Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.
And as quickly as Old Dominion redshirt sophomore quarterback Colton Joseph quieted the nearly 90% full crowd with a 75-yard touchdown on the first play of the game, Indiana senior Jonathan Brady rejuvenated it even quicker.
Brady stood near the Hoosiers’ 20-yard line awaiting a punt. With the ball landing near the 25-yard line, he extended his arms outward instead of catching the ball. But as he retreated to the 9-yard line, Brady corralled the ball off a hop instead of pinning the Hoosiers’ offense.
Then, he was gone — Brady returned the punt 91 yards for a touchdown.
The Hoosier faithful finally had something to cheer for after a shocking start. Brady’s score — Indiana’s longest punt return since 2004 — gave the Cream and Crimson life as they eventually emerged with a 27-14 victory over the Monarchs.
“I blacked out,” Brady said postgame. “The energy was amazing. My head started hurting after. All my teammates was giving me daps and pushing me and stuff, but it was a blessing and exciting to be a part of just to get the juice going.”
Brady received more hugs, daps and headbutts on the sideline after the play, which he said made his head ring. Still, he felt it was cool to be a part of and was appreciative of his “brothers” showing him love.
Saturday was the first time Brady, who transferred to Indiana from the University of California, Berkeley in May, experienced playing in front of the Hoosier faithful at Memorial Stadium.
Prior to the season opener, he knew how the atmosphere would look. He just hadn’t felt it yet.
“Once I scored, I just felt that they was just crazy and loud,” Brady said. “Watching you guys last year, I seen the energy, I seen the videos, so just to be a part of it and be here live was amazing to be a part of.”
Brady did make a pair of catches for eight yards, but notching Indiana’s first punt return touchdown since 2021 was his greatest mark.
The Los Angeles native didn’t return punts in his lone season at Cal in 2024 after having 11 for 93 yards at New Mexico State University in 2023. Still, there wasn’t any rust to shake off Saturday — he already did that.
“I got my rust knocked off in camp,” Brady said. “Coach (Curt Cignetti), he gives us great opportunity in practice to make it feel like a real game, so I knocked my rust off a little early and I appreciate him for that.”
While the Hoosiers felt Brady’s impact largely in just one play, they sensed redshirt senior running back Roman Hemby’s throughout the contest.
Hemby, who transferred in from Maryland last December, finished with 23 carries for 110 yards. He had eight rushes inside the Old Dominion 10-yard line and couldn’t find the end zone as red zone struggles plagued the Hoosiers.
Indiana’s three running backs — Hemby, sixth-year senior Kaelon Black and redshirt junior Lee Beebe Jr. — finished with 275 yards, which “as a running back, that’s all you can wish for,” Hemby said. Redshirt junior Fernando Mendoza chipped in 34 yards on the ground in his Indiana debut.
Hemby took accountability for not converting while having prime opportunities at touchdowns.
“I feel like a lot of the things I put on myself just because the O-Line, they did a great job all day helping us run the ball,” Hemby said. “…I’m going to put it on myself. I feel like there’s a lot of things that I could’ve done better in the goal line to score and close those drives off.”
Still, just one game into his Indiana career, Hemby trusts the coaching staff to right the wrongs and convert moving forward.
“I feel like when we get on the film, we’ll know exactly what we got to do,” he said. “Coach (Mike) Shanahan (offensive coordinator), all the position coaches, they do a great job putting us in position to be successful and I feel like they’ll do just that.”
Unlike Brady, Saturday wasn’t the first time Hemby had taken the field at Memorial Stadium.
As a Terrapin, Hemby had already played twice in Bloomington, going 1-1. In a 14-point loss to the Hoosiers in 2024, Hemby notched 10 carries for 117 yards and a touchdown. He had 17 rushes for 107 yards and a score in a 5-point Maryland victory in 2022.
And even without scoring Saturday, Hemby described his first game as a Hoosier at Memorial Stadium as “awesome.” He said being a part of Indiana’s culture, environment and the team is a “breath of fresh air.”
“I was telling somebody earlier, I felt so grateful I was shedding tears earlier this morning just taking it all in because not everybody gets second chances, and I feel like I got one,” he said. “I’m just so grateful, and I’m still kind of in awe.”
The Hoosiers now stand at 1-0 thanks in large part to Hemby leading the rushing attack and Brady delivering a special teams jolt.
With two nonconference games remaining before opening Big Ten play Sept. 20, the Cream and Crimson have time to solve their red zone execution issues — something that would give the Hoosier faithful more opportunities to erupt like they did for Brady on Saturday.
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
